Chapter 25, Head Equipnt, Intuition and Occult
Translator: Athena13
Editor: Silavin
Proofreader: p4553r
When Akira received notification from Shizuka about the arrival of the augnted suit that he ordered, he imdiately stopped his studying and packed up his things before setting off to Shizuka’s shop.
Akira looked excited as he entered the shop. Shizuka saw him and gave him a welcoming smile.
“Welco, the item that you ordered has arrived. I’ll take you there, so just follow .”
Shizuka took Akira to the shop’s warehouse. He saw many items and goods lined up inside the warehouse, then his eyes caught the augnted suit that was on the hanger rack.
The greyish black augnted suit hanging there was made of sothing that looked elastic. There was a tallic part that ford a skeletal fra extending from the backbone of the suit to all the 4 limbs. And it did not co with a helt or any head equipnt.
Akira circled it, his eyes locked to the augnted suit. Shizuka giggled as she watched Akira who was behaving more childish than usual.
“It’s the TLT type C-style augnted suit. Its na is Keilon. It might be 2 generations behind the latest generation augnted suit, but its hardware is not that different compared to the current generation. The basic setting software is already updated to its latest version, so don’t try to increase its capabilities by installing new software. In the worst-case scenario, a wrong adjustnt can make it twist to the opposite direction than intended, so be careful.”
Akira’s eyes were still locked into the augnted suit as he listened to Shizuka. He looked just like a small child who was excited about his new plaything.
Induced by his curiosity, Akira extended his hand to touch the augnted suit. The suit was made of synthetic fibres with countless thin but hard wick woven together. As he traced the thin wick, his finger arrived at the tallic skeletal fra.
Akira continued to feel the tallic part. The tallic part was way softer than he thought, and as he pressed it a bit, the tallic part deford as if it was made of gum. Akira pulled his finger back in panic.
“S-Shizuka-san. It’s softer than I thought though, is this normal?”
Shizuka laughed which made Akira relieved. But a part of that laugh was Shizuka enjoying Akira’s comical reaction.
“It’s alright. That part is elastic and soft when the suit is OFF in order to make it easy for the user to equip it. So then, don’t just stand there, let’s try putting it on. I’ll need your body asurent for the first ti setting. So take off your clothes just like when I took your body asurent.”
Shizuka then took Akira’s body asurent like last ti. After she finished, she went behind the augnted suit and operated her information terminal to send the data to the suit.
Once the data was received, the augnted suit automatically adjusted itself as it started to wriggle. The sleeves, inseam and body part of the suit readjusted itself to mimic Akira’s body. Akira gasped in surprise when he saw that. After the adjustnt finished, Akira put on the suit with so assistance from Shizuka.
The soft and elastic tallic part of the suit did not impede his movent when he equipped it and tried to move his limbs. But it was a different story for the weight. Although the weight of the suit was distributed across its humanoid shape, it was still quite heavy that Akira would get tired quickly if he tried to move around in it.
Shizuka took a good look at Akira before she nodded lightly.
“Yep, you look cool.”
“Thank you very much.”
Akira answered back while being bashful, but then Alpha interjected.
“Yep, you look really cool!! It’s wonderful!”
“Shut up.”
“Why are you so an to ?”
“Because it sounds like you were mocking now.”
Alpha looked offended, but Akira just ignored her. Shizuka then continued checking the augnted suit.
“Well then, go ahead and turn it ON, the switch should be sowhere around your waist. Although I think there should not be any problem, be sure to imdiately cancel the start-up process if you feel sothing is not right.”
“Alright.”
Akira then turned the suit ON. As the augnted suit booted up, he could feel the tallic part woven in its wicks and in its skeletal fra start to harden. And at the sa ti, Akira could not feel the weight of the suit anymore.
The augnted suit supported its own weight and it moved together with its user, that was why the user would not feel its weight when it is turned ON.
Akira was a bit surprised when he could not feel the suit’s weight as he tried to move around. Looking at how Akira was behaving, Shizuka knew that there was no problem with the augnted suit.
“It seems that the suit booted up without any problems. Rember to move around slowly for now until you get used to your enhanced physical ability from the augnted suit. I would have recomnded you to pick up so random heavy guns lying over there to test your enhanced strength but it would be problematic if you break them accidentally. So be sure not to touch anything, okay? You can go to the wasteland and pick up so wreckages to test your strength. Also, rember to be careful when you grab your gun. It’ll easily break if you use your augnted strength violently. Note that the tallic part of your augnted suit only hardened in order to provide support when you carry a heavy gun or any other object. So rember that you’re basically still vulnerable to bullets and monster attacks, okay?”
(p4553r: Basically an 8 million Aurum suit with no bulletproofing? o_O)
(Silavin: I believe there are stronger bullets/guns than what we have in RL right now)
Akira nodded firmly.
“I understand. I’ll be careful.”
“The other items that ca along with the augnted suit are inside the box over there. It should include extra energy packs for reserve, maintenance kit and a simple manual. You should be able to find the site where to download a more detailed manual inside the simple manual. So be sure to read the manual... I guess that’s all, do you have any other questions?”
Akira took so ti thinking before asking Shizuka.
“By the way, do people usually use a helt with their augnted suit?”
“Armour, augnted suit and basically any other equipnt are actually optional. Are you one of those people who prefer to use a helt? I’m sorry, I should’ve clarified with you beforehand.”
As Shizuka looked sorry and apologized to Akira, he replied while getting flustered.
“Ah no, I’m just wondering if it’s weird if I use a helt along with the augnted suit. I didn’t an to complain. I also did say that I’ll tell you if I need anything when I consulted with you. So please don’t be sorry.”
“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that.”
Seeing how Shizuka smiled at him, he felt relieved knowing that she was back to her usual mood. So then he continued asking questions to her.
“Shizuka-san, you did ask if I’m the type of person who uses a helt, right? So there are people who prefer to not use a helt, huh?”
“Yes. It’s actually more common, you know. So people prefer to use an information terminal on their head, so the helt that cos as a set with the augnted suit would get in their way. There are also people who prefer not to put anything on their heads too. That’s why head equipnt is optional when you use an augnted suit.”
“So there’re people who do that too, huh? To be honest, I think it’s safer to put on a helt...”
“There really are people who do that, you know. For example, both Sara and Elena don’t use a full-face helt, right?”
Akira recollected his mory of Sara and Elena’s augnted suit, it was indeed true. He also rembered that the Hunters who attacked Sara and Elena also did not use a helt. But even so, it was not enough reason for him to not use one. On the contrary, it made him question it more. Thus he asked Shizuka again while looking puzzled.
“That’s true... But why, though?”
“Well, there’s a reason for it, but it’s an occult thing, you know.”
“Occult thing, huh?”
“Yep, you want to hear it?”
“Yes please.”
Looking at how Akira was genuinely interested, Shizuka smiled as she began her story.
“There’re people among the Hunters who don’t want to put any helt no matter how good the helt is. For example, there’s this helt, although it’s a full-face helt, it is bulletproof, has a wide-angle display so the view with the helt and without the helt is exactly the sa, can also transmit sounds without any obstruction as if there is no helt. It fits perfectly and at the sa ti it does not exert any pressure on your head, and if used with the augnted suit, it’s basically weightless too. But even so, there are people who would not use this helt, do you know why? Of course, it’s not because of money.”
Akira stood silent for a brief mont trying to think of a reason, but he could not co up with anything. He then gave up and surrendered.
“...I have no idea.”
“For so reason, putting that helt will reduce their intuition, or so they say.”
“Intuition, huh?”
Akira looked puzzled after hearing an unexpected reason as the answer. Shizuka smiled as if she was enjoying his reaction which was exactly like she expected.
“Yep, intuition. It seems that those people would ditch powerful helts or any other defensive equipnt in order to keep their intuition sharp, you know. Since in my opinion, I’m also soone with good intuition, so it’s not like I can’t understand their reason.”
“Hmmm... I don’t think I understand it...”
“Well, it’s true that it’s very subjective. There are people who doubt it, but eventually, since it’s about their own feelings, there are a lot of people who trust their own gut and do whatever they want. I don’t think there’s any problem as long as they decide that based on their own preference. But it causes so problems in certain situations, for example, when arming people who work in a private military company. There’s a story where soone who was responsible for arming his squad did not believe in such occult and forced everyone in his squad to equip their helt. You know what happened then?”
“W-what happened?”
“Although they used a high-quality helt in order to convince his squad, their fatality rate increased, you know.”
Shizuka said that in a mysterious tone as she was watching Akira’s reaction, she then smiled with satisfaction.
“It’s not like there’s any real proof and it’s quite doubtful when you say you don’t want to use a helt because it impedes your intuition. But a tangible proof like fatality rate did co up. That’s why it’s called an occult thing...”
“...Uhmmm, so, is it better if I don’t use a helt?”
Shizuka answered back in a way that cald Akira who looked unsure of what to do.
“I’m sorry but I don’t have a definitive answer to that. After all, there are also people who really like their full-face helt. There’re also people out there who took this story seriously, didn’t put their helt on, and got killed because of that. If you want to put on a helt, then I think you should. If you don’t want to, then you shouldn’t. That’s all I can tell you. Not to ntion that I heard good Hunters feel awkward when they’re using equipnt that they don’t usually use. So like I said, it’s fully a subjective topic, you should decide that for yourself.”
Akira looked a bit conflicted before he made a decision and smiled bitterly.
“I understand. For now, since I don’t have any money left to buy a helt, I’ll just assu myself to be one of those people who don’t prefer a helt.”
Shizuka smiled and said.
“That might be better than staying undecided. You can anyway buy an optional set later, just tell when you change your mind.”
“Yes.”
Shizuka then changed the subject.
“Rember that just because you got yourself an augnted suit, doesn’t an that you can do anything dangerous, okay? Contact if anything bad happens. Just co to if you find anything faulty, but rember, it’ll take at least one month to get it fixed. Ah, and also, be sure to turn off the suit or put it under daily life mode until you exit the shop else you might damage sothing unknowingly.”
Akira then turned OFF the augnted suit, thus its weight suddenly returned. He thought it would be impossible to go back to the inn under this condition, thus he turned it back ON and set it to daily life mode. The weight of the suit reduced considerably. Although there’s a slight weight, it would not impede his movents.
Akira and Shizuka then went back to the shop and they started conversing professionally like a custor and a shopkeeper.
“I tried my best in picking an augnted suit that would satisfy you. I’m sure you’ll co up with a lot of things once you actually use it, but I hope you’re satisfied with it for now. If you find anything that you want to complain about, there’s no need to hold back. I’ll help you if it’s sothing within my boundaries.”
“I think it’ll be alright, but I’ll co again for consultation if anything crops up.”
Shizuka smiled as it seed that Akira was satisfied. She then added.
“There’s one thing that I forgot to tell you. Don’t forget that you’ll need to buy energy packs and other things for your augnted suit beside the usual dicine, so keep that in mind. It’ll be aningless if you only buy a new energy pack once you run out of energy. Since you already bought one, you need to maintain it so you can use it anyti.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful. Thank you very much for everything.”
As Akira politely bowed, Shizuka smiled and offered Akira so of her goods while making a joke.
“Don’t ntion it. And now that you have an augnted suit, you should be able to wield guns that you couldn’t before, right? I’ll be looking forward to when you order more guns.”
“I want to et your expectations, but I’ll have to earn enough money before that. So please wait patiently.”
Akira casually replied back with a smile. He then bowed his head and went back ho.
Shizuka saw Akira off as she mumbled.
“But that aside. He bought an AAH rifle not too long ago and he already bought an augnted suit now, huh. That’s really fast. Not to ntion that he was lucky enough to get rescued by Elena and Sara when he was in a pinch. He might beco a great Hunter in the future... Just maybe though.”
Shizuka looked worried for a bit before recovering imdiately.
The faster a person is running on the road to success, the more focused he would be, the narrower his vision, and finally, the bigger the damage he would suffer when he ets bad luck.
Shizuka imdiately changed the things in her mind before she unconsciously said what she thought and jinxed it.
Akira who already returned to his room smiled seeing the augnted suit that was hung on the hanger rack.
“Now that I already have my augnted suit, I can start looking for relics again.”
There was a need for him to pay the rest of 500,000 Aurum to Shijima and he almost ran out of money too. He only had enough money to stay in this bath-less room for a few more days.
Akira wanted to earn more money and move to a room with a bath as soon as possible, but Alpha just rejected that idea.
“We won’t go to the ruins anyti soon, you know?”
“Eh? But you said that I can go to the wasteland again once I get my augnted suit, right?”
“Of course you can go to the wasteland, but not to the ruins. It’s dangerous and I’ve decided to keep you safe, you know. I’ll do my best to find a solution against your bad luck.”
From the way Alpha said it, it felt like she was exaggerating his situation. Akira winced a bit as he wondered if his bad luck was not sothing that he could fight back unless he had an equal amount of resolve.
“I-I see. If you say so, it can’t be helped then. So, what should I do from now on? We’re about to run out of money to even stay in this cheap room, you know?”
“It’s alright. We’ll take requests from the Hunter Office to earn money for the ti being. Your aim, for now, is to complete requests from the Hunter Office and get your Hunter rank up until you can borrow a vehicle for exploring the wasteland.”
“Vehicle, huh? Hmmm, is there any reason why I should prioritize that?”
“It’s tiring to run away from a group of monsters with your legs, isn’t it?”
Although Akira was convinced by that reasoning, he was making a conflicted face as he realized that the way Alpha worded it out was as if he was ought to encounter another group of monsters in the future.
“Exploring the ruins for collecting relics will co after that. And I’ll be the one choosing the requests too.”
“...Well, if you said so, then I’ll leave everything to you.”
“Just go and take rest for today. I’ll finish the augnted suit’s setting while you sleep. You’ll have augnted suit training for the whole day tomorrow. I’ll have you get used to it so that you’ll at least be able to fight while using it. Then we’ll start taking requests from the day after tomorrow.”
“Augnted suit setting? But Shizuka already did that, right?”
Alpha smiled invincibly to Akira who looked a little bit sour.
“She only configured the most basic part. I’m going to configure the setting tailored for you to maximize my support capabilities. I only need you to connect your information terminal and I’ll do the rest myself, so don’t worry.”
Akira took his information terminal and used the cable from the augnted suit maintenance kit to connect his information terminal with his augnted suit. Once it was connected, the information terminal showed an array of symbols, numbers, images and characters that he did not recognise, but he rembered that sothing similar had happened when Alpha configured his information terminal too. Thus he did not worry about it and went to take a rest.
As Alpha was busy configuring Akira’s augnted suit through the information terminal, Akira was using the note and the stationeries to study by himself. But he then rembered what Shizuka said.
“Hey Alpha, Shizuka-san said that there are people whose intuition worsened when they used a helt. Is that true?”
“Yep, that’s true.”
Akira was a bit surprised since Alpha said it as if it was a fact and it was idiotic to doubt that in the first place.
“You put that out pretty clearly, huh. Even Shizuka-san said it herself that it was occult belief, you know.”
“It’s a misjudgent and misinterpretation due to the inability to get the needed accurate information and knowledge. It’s because a mix of inability to empirically translate individual sensation or inability to communicate with such a thing or so many other factors. It’s exactly because it can’t be analyzed with the current technology that it’s called an occult thing.”
Akira looked utterly confused.
“...Can you please explain it in words that are easier for to understand?”
“Of course. Let’s imagine, you are seeing a low-resolution picture of Kuzusuhara ruin. Although it’s blurry, you can still recognize it. But there’s a difference between the picture and the real scene even if the people who see the picture don’t realize it. Since it is a blurry image you won’t be able to make out all the details in it. It’s the sa reasoning with a full-face helt equipped with a wide-angle display or a high quality binocular. There’s always so information that gets lost. And if so of the information that is lost contains warning for an incoming danger, then you won’t be able to notice it. And this is not limited only to information coming from vision. The sa reasoning can also be used for any information received through any part of your head.”
Akira looked puzzled and there were a lot of questions inside his mind.
“Feeling soone behind you and really finding soone there when you look back. There are people who have such a level of intuition. But those people have such intuition, not because of their sight, hearing, touch, taste, or sll. They, of course, can’t see what is behind them, nor hear, nor sll, nor touch. These people might not be able to directly see the person behind them, but they might have an organ that sohow makes them able to feel the gaze. They might be soone who got such an organ by using technology from the old world or they might be descendants of such people. There’s also the possibility that they got their hands on a relic that allows them to do that and they’ve been using it without realizing as if they suddenly got a superpower. So using a helt might impede that organ or relic.”
Akira looked confused, he seed like he could not understand everything that Alpha just said.
“Although you’re talking with through telepathy, this is sothing that only happens between and you. Like I said before, this is possible because of so peculiarities in your brain. But this is not only limited to our case. There are cases where other people could communicate and send information through telepathy with another person or thing too. As an example, so twins can communicate between them through telepathy or like when you sohow notice that there’s danger nearby from the people around you. You might not be able to communicate directly with the people around you, but so information is unconsciously transferred. This kind of information transfer might be blocked by a helt.”
Akira was barely able to follow through all the new information that was flooding his brain.
“Basically, people who have good intuition are those who for so reason are able to unconsciously receive information and make decisions based on that information. For the Hunters who regularly risk their lives in their job, they’ve always been polishing and relying on their intuition, so having it dulled is like making them fight monsters with their eyes blinded. The more they rely on their intuition, the easier they’ll get killed without it.”
Alpha then stopped her explanation temporarily.
“Did you understand anything?”
Akira was still confused, but he sohow blurted out an answer.
“...So in short, if I put sothing weird on my head, the things that are hard to notice normally will beco impossible for to notice. And there’s even a chance that it’ll block our telepathy ability, right?”
Alpha looked surprised for a mont hearing his answer, but she imdiately smiled happily.
“Even though you didn’t understand everything, I think it’s good enough that you were able to understand this much. That’s why, no matter how good the equipnt is, you’re not allowed to use it if it impedes my support.”
“But how will I know if it’ll impede your support?”
“I’ll know it right away and I’ll warn you, so don’t worry.”
“I see, I understand.”
Akira was relieved since he knew that Alpha would warn him when he might try to equip anything strange that would hamper Alpha’s support unknowingly.
“Now then, was that good enough? Or should I explain it to you again with a lower difficulty bar?”
“Nope, that was good enough. You can just tell the rest of the details while teaching.”
“Is that so? Just ask anyti when you want to hear the rest.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Akira rejected that offer since he had a feeling that she would continue with a long and difficult explanation if he said yes. But he did not know that Alpha had already guessed his answer.
Alpha smiled as she was watching Akira closely when he tried to evade that subject. By seeing how Akira reacted, how his expression changed and how his mood changed. She was able to infer Akira’s tendency, personality, things that he liked, things that he hated, things that shocked him etc, basically, the root of his personality. She had always been observing Akira for this very reason.
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